This is the moment dozens of passengers pushed their bus up a slippery slope after it struggled to make it uphill with snow and ice covering the road.

Phone footage captured by a passing woman shows the passengers gathered behind the bus in the town of Qingdao in Shandong, China, on Tuesday, February 20.

Morning commuters aboard the bus nearly found themselves stranded after it kept sliding backward while trying to make it the uphill road.

Rather than despairing, the approximately 20 passengers rolled up their sleeves and helped push the bus until it made it up the slope.

It came as heavy snow has disrupted travel in many parts of China, forcing authorities to close down highways and cancel classes.

The National Meteorological Centre (NMC) issued an orange alert, the highest in the country's three-tier system on Wednesday as temperatures dropped across the south.

The NMC also called on local governments 'for necessary measures to protect crops and aquatic products.'

Freezing rain and snow are expected to continue until February 26, local media reported.